Rage ; part one

January 16, 2013

Rage, there’s a lot of it out there; sometimes it is caused by a huge event, but often it is the persistent drip drip drip that builds into an anger that is hard to contain. Where is this anger from, where does this anger go and what does it do to us? For many I would argue this rage becomes internalised and self damaging. But for some this rage is something that they have complete control of. Some may insist that rage is uncontrollable, but it can be channeled and used as a weapon. Bullies and abusers are experts at turning their anger and their rage against others.

I would imagine that it’s quite a thrill to rage at someone releasing your inner pressure and at the same time subduing and controlling another individual, it might even thrill to see fear in someones eyes as a reaction to your rage. How big, important and powerful do bullies and abusers feel once they have enacted their rage?

Have you ever been behind someone in a very slow moving long queue and watched them kick off? Watched people shrink away from them as they get louder and more offensive? I have and then watched in shock as they have verbally harangued the person at the till in a cinema, the till had malfunctioned and the staff dealt with it as quickly as they could but for this one man it just wasn’t good enough. His rage left as quickly as it arrived and seemed so over the top I couldn’t help thinking that it hadn’t had far to travel.

I don’t have any answers this is just a bit of a ramble, but I do think that losing control is a very very rare thing and this rage and losing control should never be used as an excuse in a court of law or otherwise.

For anyone who feels controlled by someone elses anger and rage, feeling that this other could lose control at any moment and that their life is spent walking on a razors edge please note that this angry other knows exactly what they are doing and how it affects you and leaving is an option a good one. Ask yourself one question do they treat everyone as they do you? Observe how they control their behaviour and act in front of others then acknowledge their deceit and see their rage for what it is.

"I have long argued that the giving of offence, and even hate speech, should be a moral matter but not a matter for the criminal law. That is as true on the football pitch as on the streets. We should always challenge racism. We should also always challenge attacks on liberties in the guise of faux antiracism." Kenan Malik